While You Were Gone
by How it should have been
Summary: Nobody really expected Neville, Ginny and the rest of the D.A. to lie down and let the Carrows trod on them, did they? Because while Harry, Ron and Hermione were off hunting Horcruxes, Hogwarts was waging war against its captors. Follow Neville and Ginny as they lead the school against Snape and the Carrows, and ultimately fight in the biggest war the wizarding world has ever seen.
1. Dumbledore's Army

**Disclaimer: **Any familiar characters, settings or situations belong to J.K. Rowling.

* * *

"_I thought I'd find you here," Ginny said quietly, sitting down beside Harry on the sandy banks of the Black Lake – the place that they had spent many afternoons alone together just last year, though it felt more like a hundred years ago now. Harry gave her a small smile as she placed a comforting hand on his knee. "Everybody's inside..." Ginny trailed off, not wanting to say _grieving_ but not wanting to say _celebrating_, either._

_Harry said nothing for a while, just simply continued looking out over the surface of the lake that the both of them had travelled across in their respective first years. Ginny remembered that even then, in his first year, Harry had been fighting off Lord Voldemort, and now it was all over._

"_I'm sorry about Fred," he said after a little while, still watching the lake._

_Ginny glanced at Harry. "It's not your fault," she responded, even though she knew he would continue to blame himself for some time yet._

"_Maybe I can finally be normal now," Harry said bitterly, watching the sun rise slowly on the horizon._

_Ginny shook her head. "You'll never be normal, Harry. You'll always be famous and in the spotlight because of what happened to you when you were a child, and because of what happened today. But you will be safe," she said, touching Harry's face and slowly turning it so that he was looking at her. "And so will I, and the rest of the students at Hogwarts and all of the people in wizarding Britain. People are safe now, Harry, because of you." She rubbed his cheek softly and he smiled a little before placing an arm around her shoulder and pulling her close to his side._

"_Everything today aside," he said, kissing her red head, "how was your year?"_

_Ginny nestled in closer, a triumphant grin on her face. "Well, while you were gone –"_

The compartment door made a terribly loud noise as it was flung open, waking Ginny Weasley from her sleep to see a dishevelled looking Neville Longbottom slump down on the seat across from her and next to Luna Lovegood, who was reading one of her many peculiar looking issues of _The Quibbler_.

"You alright?" Ginny asked, blinking back the sunlight streaming through the window a couple of times before getting up and closing the compartment door behind Neville, a little annoyed that he had woken her. She had a feeling that she had been dreaming, what the dream was about, though, was lost on her, as most dreams are when the dreamer awakes.

"No, Malfoy's ruddy Head Boy, isn't he?" Neville grumbled, folding his arms and looking out of the window moodily.

"Well it wasn't exactly unexpected," Ginny responded, taking her seat again beside Neville. "He's been Snape's golden boy since day one, hasn't he?"

"Yeah, but the Carrows seem to have taken a shine to him as well," Neville said, a dark look falling over his face.

"The Carrows?" Ginny asked curiously, the name ringing an alarm in her head.

"New teachers, they were supervising the prefects meeting. Death Eaters for sure," Neville said, "they were among the ones that Malfoy let into the school last year."

"What're they teaching?" Ginny asked, remembering some article in the _Daily Prophet_ towards the end of the summer about the brother and sister teaching pair that would be helping Headmaster Snape turn Hogwarts around. The picture had shown the brother and sister, smug and smirking, and Ginny had recognised one as the witch she had dueled last year in the Astronomy Tower.

"Defence most probably," Neville said with a shrug. "Didn't want to stick around long enough to ask."

Ginny made a sound in agreement as two darkly cloaked figures opened both compartment doors on either side of the train.

"Well, well, what have we here?" Yaxley sneered, leaning into Ginny, Neville and Luna's compartment. "Have a good summer, Weasley?" he asked smugly. "Hope we didn't ruin too much of your brother's blood-traitorous wedding."

Ginny glared and it took all of her willpower to keep her wand in her pocket. Yaxley and the death eaters were the powers that be now that the ministry had successfully been infiltrated by Voldemort. And while hexing him into oblivion would surely make Ginny feel better; it wasn't worth the price she would pay afterwards.

"You're looking for Harry," Neville assumed, glaring at the Death Eater with just as much hatred in his eyes as Ginny's. "Well he's not here, so you can move on, thanks."

Yaxley laughed darkly. "I'd keep that tongue in order if I were you, Longbottom. Potter's not your little Chosen One anymore," he said, smirking at Neville and Ginny before turning and moving on to the next compartment.

"Of course Harry's still the Chosen One," Luna said simply, finally looking up from her _Quibbler_. "He's still alive, isn't he?" She said it as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, and Ginny couldn't bring herself to say, nor believe, that there was a possibility that Harry, Ron and Hermione were dead already. Ginny hadn't heard a thing from them since Bill and Fleur's wedding fell apart. The only thing that kept her and majority of the people in the wizarding community hoping was the knowledge that if Voldemort had finally found and defeated Harry Potter, he would surely make sure the whole world knew about it.

Nevertheless, Ginny could not help but feel swamped by everything going on in her life at the moment. Worry, it was all worry. Worry over Harry, and her brother, and Hermione. Worry over the Muggle-borns she knew that had gone into hiding over the summer. Worry over what would happen to the teachers and the students that won't lie down and be walked all over. Worry over what this year would bring.

"I think it's high time the D.A. restarted," Neville said, still glaring at where Yaxley had been moments ago.

"Huh?" Ginny asked, her mind snapping out of its reverie, alerted to Neville's mention of Dumbledore's Army.

"I said I think we should restart the D.A.," Neville repeated.

"But Harry's not here to teach us," Luna said slowly, leaning in hopefully nonetheless.

"He taught us enough, and no doubt we'll learn a fair bit in Defence this year. No, I reckon we bring the D.A. back to show Snape and the Carrows and the whole ruddy corrupt Ministry that we're not backin' down, we're gonna fight," Neville said heatedly, giving Ginny a look that seemed to be contagious.

As if inspired by his words, Ginny agreed. "It's what the D.A. was founded for," she said thoughtfully. "And it's what Harry and the others would want. Merlin knows it's what the school needs."

* * *

"As any literate person who reads the Daily Prophet will know," _Headmaster_ Snape began his speech once the Great Hall was full, "I have been appointed Headmaster of Hogwarts, thus inducing many changes around here. Firstly, it must be reiterated that Harry Potter and his cronies, Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger, are wanted by the Ministry for Magic for the severest of crimes. Any information you may have about these undesirables' locations is welcome and heavily rewarded. Secondly, I would like to welcome Professor Carrow," Snape waved to where Amycus Carrow sat on his right, "who will be teaching the compulsory subject of Dark Arts," dark murmurs spread through the hall like wildfire but Snape ignored it all, "and Professor Carrow," he waved to where Alecto Carrow sat on his left, "who will be teaching the compulsory subject of Muggle Studies." Nothing was said about Professor Burbage, who had previously taken the Muggle Studies post, and Ginny, along with many other students, felt a terrible feeling that foul play had been involved in Alecto Carrow's appointment as Muggle Studies Professor. "Along with their roles as Professors, Professor Carrow and Professor Carrow are also in charge of discipline from here on out. Mr Filch would also like me to mention that the list of banned objects can be found in his office," Snape said quickly, seemingly finding it unimportant, "The competition for the Quidditch Cup is banned this year," the Great Hall really roared this time, though Snape still ignored it, "and the Forbidden Forest is, as always, out of bounds to any students who wish to live long and healthy lives. Now, eat quickly and get to bed," Snape snapped, taking Dumbledore's seat at the high table.

A feeling of rage welled up inside Neville and Ginny, who sat side by side and exchanged an infuriated glance before swallowing their frustration and beginning their dinner. Much sooner than previous years, the welcoming feast was over and students were being bustled by their prefects to their respective common rooms.

* * *

The first week of classes were more miserable than any Ginny and Neville had experienced in their entire Hogwarts education. It was normal that students feel a proportionate amount of depression during the first week back from summer holidays, but this was more than that. The Dark Arts classes jumped straight into Fiendfyre, a ferocious fire conjured by dark magic – only those adept and willing to embrace the Dark Arts (Slytherins) were successful in producing the curse effectively.

And Muggle Studies was no better, with Alecto Carrow screeching about the abominable race that is Muggles and the most painful ways of killing them. Though students did find some sense of normalcy and solace in the form of classes such as Charms and Transfiguration, where students were punished with normal methods by their respective teachers and not simply referred to the Carrows, something Slughorn had begun doing for fear of their wrath.

By the end of the week, though, Neville and Ginny had had enough, and after finding Luna in the library on Friday night, the three hatched a plan.

* * *

**A/N: **So if you haven't already figured out, this story follows Neville, Ginny and Luna through Hogwarts during _Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows_. I'll be trying to stay as true to the book as possible while still creating something unique and untold. If you think something isn't quite right then let me know and I'll take a look at it. Praise, hate, and constructive criticism is more than welcome in the form of reviews. I'll try to update as much as I can, but until next time, here's a little teaser for next chapter:

_...But no, it wasn't Filch. It was Professor McGonagall._

_"Mr Filch has woken me with stories of my students out of bed and vandalising the school," she spoke to thin air as she surveyed the Gryffindor Common Room, her eyes passed over Neville and Ginny but continued to glance about, as if not really seeing them at all. "Alas, it seems nobody is out of bed in Gryffindor Tower and therefore punishment cannot be handed out to any of the students I am responsible for." And with that she turned on her heel and exited the Common Room, leaving Neville and Ginny to breathe one more sigh of relief before retiring to their warm beds..._


	2. Detention

**Disclaimer: **Any familiar characters, settings or situations belong to J.K. Rowling

* * *

At exactly one o'clock in the morning the first Sunday back at Hogwarts, after prefects had finished their patrols and were certainly safely tucked up in bed, Neville, backpack slung over his shoulder, and Ginny, broomstick in hand, left Gryffindor tower and headed down towards the Entrance Hall where they were due to meet Luna. The short trip down to the Entrance Hall was complication free, though Neville and Ginny kept their wands at the ready just in case any trouble seemed to find them. Surely being out of bed so late past curfew would be grounds for a week's worth of formidable detentions with the Carrows, but if they managed to pull this off, the detentions would definitely be worth the risk.

Finding Luna, they set off into the Great Hall where Neville placed a backpack on the ground and retrieved a black can of enchanted spray paint, bought just for this occasion from Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes, and handed it to Ginny, who, undoubtedly being the best flyer of the three, was already mounting her broomstick. She took the spray can from Neville and looked from him to Luna, anticipation and excitement masking what little nerves she had.

"What should it say?" she asked, resting her light brown eyes on Luna.

"Dumbledore's Army, still recruiting," Luna responded in that serene voice of hers.

Ginny looked to Neville, who nodded his approval, and set off to cover the humongous right side of the Great Hall in big, black lettering. Twenty minutes or so later, _Dumbledore's Army, Still Recruiting_ emblazoned the whole wall, and after placing a few extra irreversible charms to strengthen that of the ones already placed on the spray cans bought from Ginny's twin brothers, they set off to cover the walls of the many corridors that had the most traffic on a typical school day.

At about five in the morning, the last wall on the seventh floor was finished, and Luna and Neville were just placing the last irreversible charms on the last art piece as Mrs Norris came round the corner, stopped and meowed lowly, staring at the three out of bed students as if they were mice she was about to pounce on.

Neville swore. "Filch'll be here in a minute," he whispered hurriedly before looking at Luna. "Run!" Luna set off down a moving staircase and Neville and Ginny ran in the opposite direction to Mrs Norris, heading for Gryffindor Tower.

"Students out of bed, this late," the Fat Lady tutted as they came to a halt outside the portrait hole.

"Blood-traitors," Neville told the Fat Lady, but she continued on as if she hadn't heard them.

"I suppose you're back from whatever stunt you left four hours ago to pull. You should know better–"

"Blood-trait–"

"–this castle isn't safe anymore; danger sleeps within these very walls–"

"Blood-traitors!" Ginny shrieked at the Fat Lady, desperately hoping that Filch wasn't hot on their tail.

"Oh alright, no need to scream at me," the Fat Lady huffed, opening up for Neville and Ginny to scramble inside, all the while muttering about how ungrateful and stupidly death-defying Gryffindors could be at times like these.

Neville and Ginny breathed a sigh of relief as they collapsed onto the couch by the fire, exhausted. A few quiet minutes passed before Ginny finally looked at Neville, who looked up at her upon feeling her stare. They shared a look and, seeming to realise at the same moment that they had so narrowly escaped Filch, burst into a fit of laughter that ceased instantly at the sound of the portrait hole opening and somebody stepping inside the Gryffindor common room.

Ginny and Neville both bounced up onto their feet, both hoping to Merlin that it wasn't Filch coming to interrogate them – Neville still held the backpack full of empty spray cans and Ginny's broom lay only feet away on the ground near the couch. But no, it wasn't Filch. It was Professor McGonagall.

"Mr Filch has woken me up with stories of my students out of bed and vandalising the school," she spoke to thin air as she surveyed the Gryffindor common room, her eyes passed over Neville and Ginny but continued to glance about, as if not really seeing them at all. "Alas, it seems nobody is out of bed in Gryffindor Tower and therefore punishment cannot be handed out to any of the students I am responsible for." And with that she turned on her heel and exited the common room, leaving Neville and Ginny to breathe one more sigh of relief before retiring to their warm beds.

A few hours later, Ginny and Neville woke with the rest of Gryffindor Tower and traipsed down to the Great Hall for breakfast. Seamus Finnigan joined them on the walk down and invited Ginny and Neville down to the Quidditch pitch after lunch for a friendly Gryffindor on Gryffindor game. He reasoned that proper Quidditch matches between houses had been banned, but Snape hadn't said anything about a non-competitive game between friends. Ginny promised she'd be there and Neville agreed to come and watch, since his flying skills were horrid, as they entered the Great Hall, which was abuzz with excited conversation.

Ginny and Neville glanced at the right wall of the Great Hall, pasted vaguely surprised looks on their faces and took their seats at Gryffindor table with Seamus, all under the scrutinising eyes of Alecto and Amycus Carrow. After ten minutes or so, still feeling the burning sensation of being watched, Ginny dared to look up at the high table. Snape seemed to think staring daggers at students was below him, but the two Death Eaters either side of him seemed to think otherwise. Ginny focused a steady look at Alecto Carrow, whose bottom lip was curling down in great hatred. Ginny couldn't help it; she gave the Muggle Studies professor a sweet smile and returned to her breakfast.

After breakfast, Neville returned to the common room to finish his Charms essay and Ginny headed for the library where she had agreed to meet Luna. She hadn't dared look over at the Ravenclaw table in search of Luna during breakfast, not with Alecto Carrow watching her like a hawk. But when Ginny arrived in the library and made her way to the table she had specified to Luna, she found the girl sitting there, gazing up at Ginny happily.

"We did it," she said, triumph in her voice.

Ginny let out another sigh of relief. "Yeah, we did it," she said, smiling happily for the first time since returning to Hogwarts.

Settling down across from Luna at the table, Ginny pulled out her Transfiguration homework and together, they began to make some headway with the stack of essays and questionnaires they had been given over the first week back at Hogwarts.

* * *

The weeks following the vandalism of the castle and the subsequent incapability to remove the graffiti saw an improvement on the morale of most of the student body.

In one Potions lesson, Zacharias Smith went out of his way to be partnered with Ginny so that he could hint to her that he was ready and waiting for his coin to burn his pocket.

Terry Boot marched right up to Gryffindor table in the middle of dinner one night to tell Ginny and Neville, who were sitting side by side, in a none too quiet voice, that he too was ready and waiting for them to set a day and time.

Towards the end of the third week back at Hogwarts, Hannah Abbott caught up with Neville after Herbology and told him in plain terms that if whoever graffitied the school was serious about the D.A., she'd be at the next meeting for sure.

So on the third Saturday back at Hogwarts, Neville cracked the counter-spell on his coin and changed it so that whatever day and time he chose on his coin would be imitated on everybody else's coins. He set the date for tomorrow just after breakfast, and pretty soon every previous member of the D.A.'s pockets were burning.

* * *

"So, we're all here, I guess," Neville nervously addressed the group of Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw students. "Right, so. Well, I guess the whole point of us meeting back up now is the Carrows, and the war, and Snape sitting in Dumbledore's seat and working in Dumbledore's office and the bleeding Dark Arts and Muggle Studies classes," his voice slowly grew more steady, more confident, more sure of what he was saying. Ginny and Luna sat amongst the others, watching with a sense of pride as Neville addressed their friends and their classmates, all of whom were willing to fight. "We're here because of Harry. Because Harry started this so that we'd having a fighting chance to show up people like Umbridge and the Carrows. So that's what we're gonna do. We're gonna do what's right, regardless of the consequences, and we're gonna recruit more people, build up our ranks, and we're gonna make Harry proud, show him that he's got people that still believe in him and are waiting for him to finish whatever he's doing so that we can fight _with _him."

By now, the students were nodding with him, inspiration and defiance burning in their eyes, and when he finished his speech, the room erupted into cheers and excited conversation. Ginny got up and hugged Neville, for once feeling jubilant as she pulled back and looked around at the D.A. members she had learnt with two years ago in this very same room.

The meeting let out not too long after and the next day, war against the Carrows began.

* * *

"You there, tell me what the Killing Curse is," Amycus Carrow bellowed at a fifth year, Nigel Wolport.

"A curse that makes the victim giggle uncontrollably," Nigel responded.

"Detention!"

* * *

"...Muggle-borns are just as bad, stealing our magic –" Alecto Carrow carried on.

"They're born with it, you toerag," Padma Patil spat.

"Detention!"

* * *

"Longbottom, would you be so kind as to do the honour of casting the first Cruciatus Curse," Amycus crooned sweetly, pointing his wand at a small group of first year students who had supposedly landed themselves in detention.

"Only if it's on you," Neville responded.

"Detention!"

* * *

"...They're stupid, ignorant, thieving –"

"Hermione Granger was top of her year and so was Harry Potter's mother, and they were both Muggle-borns," Ginny interrupted.

"Detention!"

* * *

**A/N: **So last chapter got sixty hits, but only four reviews. It makes me happy to know that even though you're not reviewing, you're still reading, though I really would enjoy receiving reviews from you guys. I like to know what I've done right, or what I've done wrong, or what you liked or what you didn't like. So please, review and let me know and I'll update as soon as I can. Until then, though, sink your teeth into this:

_The charm Hermione had placed on the list of members didn't prevent those who knew about the D.A. from telling anybody about it; it just made sure that those who told would be identifiable... What if Leanne wasn't the only person Ginny should be worried about? Anybody in the D.A. could tell. And in times like these, every person was just as likely as the next to betray Dumbledore's Army. After all, fear could make even the most loyal of people turn traitor._


	3. Fear

**Disclaimer: **Any familiar characters, settings or situations belong to J.K. Rowling.

* * *

Ginny walked with Zacharias Smith and Leanne something-or-other from Hufflepuff up the last flight of stairs and onto the sixth floor. All sixth years had free periods this period, something the Carrows had undoubtedly implemented this year to make their lives that much easier. The three sixth years were heading for Amycus Carrow's classroom where he was teaching Dark Arts to seventh years, which Ginny had learned from Neville last night when she'd told him when her detention was scheduled for, since she had found it most unusual for detention to be held during the school day.

She anxiously stopped outside Carrow's classroom when they arrived, exchanging an odd look with the two Hufflepuffs. It was a combination of fright at what was to come and the resilience that had landed them in detention in the first place. Taking a deep breath, Ginny knocked on the door and when a voice on the other side instructed them so, she entered the dark room first.

"And here we have our lab-rats, class," Amycus Carrow crooned as the three sixth years entered. "They've earned themselves detentions here today for varying forms of defiance against the new Ministry regime and the school itself. This one," he pointed at Zacharias, "thought he would be a smart-aleck by telling me that the Unforgivable Curses are illegal for a reason... Well they're not anymore, and definitely not in this classroom, they're not," Carrow cackled. "So today you will be putting what you have learnt in theory into practice. And these are what you will be practicing on – filthy blood-traitors," he spat. "Who's first?"

Only a few hands shot up, and Ginny wasn't surprised to see that the hands belonged only to Slytherins. "Goyle, pick one and go ahead," Carrow instructed, and Ginny knew straight away who he would pick.

Who did Slytherins hate most?

Gryffindors.

"Weasley," Gregory Goyle grunted, standing up and coming to stand by the front row of desks. If she hadn't been so focused on the pain that was surely becoming more imminent by the second, she might have made a smart remark about Goyle actually knowing how to talk.

He raised his wand and pointed it at her, heavy concentration planted on his face. In the split-second before he cast the curse, Ginny tried to remember everything Harry had ever told her about resisting Unforgiveable Curses, and she tried to put all of it into action now.

"_Crucio_!" A red spark emitted from the end of his wand, but nothing else happened and Ginny thought for a moment that she was saved, chancing a glance at Neville who sat in the back row with the Patil twins, sombre as ever. But Goyle conjured the curse again, and this time a jet of red light burst from the tip of his wand and hit Ginny square in the chest.

An excruciating pain burst inside of her and spread throughout her body instantaneously. Vaguely she felt her hands and knees collide with the cold, stone floor, but all that registered in her mind was the feeling that her skull was slowly being torn open. It lasted all of three seconds, and then it was over, Ginny on her hands and knees, panting and dry retching.

"Pathetic," Carrow said. "Have a go at the Hufflepuffs, Goyle. Come on down, Zabini."

Ginny only had a moment to look up at her dark-skinned attacker before keeling over again, a whole new wave of pain crashing into her. Again, her skull felt as if something was clawing at it, pulling it apart, while her limbs were being ripped from her body, torn and chewed and everything horrible multiplied by a hundred. Long gone were thoughts of resistance, long gone were thoughts of Harry…

And on and on it went, each time Zabini lost concentration he would just start in again, sending her into realms of terror she hadn't even known existed until, finally, only fifteen minutes later, Carrow called for more students to come forward, and Zabini was forced to move on. A few Ravenclaw students seemed to truly try when they were called upon, but for the most part, nobody else seemed even remotely interested in committing such a horrendous crime against Ginny, Zacharias or Leanne.

"Alright Abbott, that's enough," Carrow sighed, clearly disappointed by the lack of enthusiasm on the part of majority of his class.

"I'd ask Malfoy to step up," Carrow smirked, "but I already know for a fact that he's more than accomplished in terms of the Cruciatus curse. Longbottom, your turn!"

"No," Neville responded, from where he still sat at the back of the class.

Ginny had made him promise last night not to protect her from his classmates today because it would only land him in the same situation. But he already had a detention scheduled for Saturday night, so what was one more? And he wasn't really breaking his promise; he wasn't protecting her from his classmates. He was just simply refusing to even attempt what the rest of his classmates had.

"No?" Carrow asked, amused.

"No."

"How gallant of you, Longbottom. How supremely defiant. Mummy and Daddy would be proud." Neville's wand hand twitched. He wasn't sure he'd be able to cast the Cruciatus curse on any of the three sixth years at the front of the classroom, but he was positive he'd be able to use it quite effectively on Amycus Carrow if his self control waned. "Let's add an extra hour onto your detention Saturday night, shall we?" And with that, Carrow turned to the rest of the class and offered them a demonstration of how a Cruciatus curse was properly performed.

Ginny silently thanked Merlin when Carrow looked past her, though instantly felt guilty when he chose Leanne instead. It was all she could do to keep herself from screaming along with Leanne as the poor girl writhed on the floor, eyes squeezed shut in horror. Thankfully, though, the horror was not long-lived. After only a few minutes, the end of period bell sounded and class was over. Ginny helped Zacharias bring Leanne to her feet and, refusing to look at Carrow, the three fled the classroom as quickly as was still dignifying.

* * *

The next day brought Friday and the end of the school week. The school day carried on in its all too normal manner now, dark and brooding, though every now and then somebody would say something or do something that would land them in detention.

Rumours were starting to fly now as to what really went down at these terrifying detentions. Some said you were left outside all night with nothing but the ever growing number of Dementors for company. Some said Filch had been granted his wish of hanging people up and whipping them. The stories grew wilder and wilder from there and by the time Friday night came, Neville was feeling slightly anxious. This time tomorrow night he would be serving detention with Amycus Carrow down in the dungeons.

"You'll be right," Seamus consoled, slapping Neville on the back good-heartedly.

While grateful for the comfort, Neville was sure that he would be far from alright come tomorrow night. He, among other certain D.A. members, had earned himself a reputation with the Carrows, which meant that they knew exactly who he was and everything about him, certainly they knew about his parents.

Across from him, Ginny watched the exchange between Seamus and Neville and saw Neville's jaw clench at Seamus' words. She wanted to do the same, to tell him it would be alright, that he had nothing to worry about, even if it was a lie. But she couldn't bring herself to do it, mainly because Neville would know it was a lie as well. So when dinner finished and they made their way out of the Great Hall together, Ginny didn't speak. She wanted to say something, something that would tell him she thought him incredibly brave, incredibly inspiring, but nothing came out the way she wanted it to.

"Ginny, Neville!" a girl called after them as they climbed the main staircase. "Hey, I wanted to talk to you at dinner but I didn't think I should draw attention to it," the girl said, coming up beside Ginny and matching their strides. It was Leanne, and she was right, a Hufflepuff travelling across the Great Hall to the Gryffindor table would definitely have drawn attention – all the wrong kinds of attention. "I was hoping, well maybe we could take this somewhere quieter." Neville and Ginny exchanged a look before shrugging and turning into a deserted corridor just off the top of the staircase. Leanne followed suit.

Once positive they were alone, Leanne flicked her dark hair over her shoulder, squared her shoulders, and spoke. "I know you're up to something. The way you talk to the Carrows and the way other people look at you... You're clearly at the centre of something, that something being Dumbledore's Army, I suspect, and I want in." Neville and Ginny exchanged a look again and Leanne took advantage of their nervousness to explain. "The graffiti said Dumbledore's Army was still recruiting, and I assume it'll remain that way until the Carrows figure out how to get the blasted stuff off the walls," she gave a little laugh. "I mean, if you don't want me, that's fine. It's just that after yesterday... Well I want to be a part of whatever it is that the Carrows are so afraid of."

Neville stared at Leanne for a few long moments, and Ginny could see the wheels turning in the girl's head, suddenly doubting whether Ginny and Neville were involved at all. "We'll let you know when the next meeting is."

Leanne smiled, triumphant, bid them a good evening and disappeared out of the corridor. "Is that a good idea?" Ginny asked, taking advantage of the empty corridor. "She could be answering to one of the Carrows. She said it herself, they're afraid of what's going on here."

Neville nodded his agreement with Ginny. "We'll get her to sign Hermione's list of members before we tell her anything, then she'll be on the same level as everybody else, and if she does happen to let it slip to the Carrows... Well, we'll know it was her, won't we?"

This time Ginny nodded her own agreement and they departed the empty corridor.

Ginny went to bed uneasy that night, a sick feeling overwhelming her that was triggered by what Neville had said. _Then she'll be on the same level as everybody else_. The charm Hermione had placed on the list of members didn't prevent those who knew about the D.A. from telling anybody about it; it just made sure that those who told would be identifiable... What if Leanne wasn't the only person Ginny should be worried about? Anybody in the D.A. could tell. And in times like these, every person was just as likely as the next to betray Dumbledore's Army. After all, fear could make even the most loyal of people turn traitor.

Ginny rolled over and punched her pillow angrily a couple of times because it wasn't doing its job of putting her to sleep. Instead, her mind was going haywire and she wondered how Mad-Eye Moody had been able to live with his neurotic and paranoid self for so long. Mad-Eye Moody who had died over the summer… The summer that her brother had gotten married, the summer that the ministry had fallen to Lord Voldemort and her best friend, other brother, and boyfriend (whether they were together or not) had gone on the run, supposedly with a mission to complete. A mission from Dumbledore, who had died, and left certain objects behind for Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Harry…

Ginny rolled over again, her mind suddenly consumed by Harry, who should've been paying bloody rent to her for the amount of time he spent living in her head these days. Not for the first time, she closed her eyes and allowed the memory of their last kiss to play out in her mind – something to remember her by. Oh how the poor girl hoped he hadn't forgotten her, curled up in her bed in the girls' dormitory of Gryffindor Tower, replaying one of the last happy moments she had with him in her head as she drifted off into a recurring dream that she could never remember the next morning. A dream of a far off future, where she joined him on the banks of the Black Lake, and told him all about her year.

* * *

Hopefully the coming chapters will be longer as a result of more lovely events taking place. Here's a tiny sneak peek for next chapter:

_With a great heave, Neville hacked back and slung a great big gob of spit at Amycus Carrow._

Reviews make me extremely happy guys, so get on it! (:


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